The 10 Worst Things About Having a Cold

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#NyQuil #DayQuil #Flu #Cold

I just got back from an amazing blogging adventure out in sunny Los Angeles. It was a beautiful 80 degrees the entire time and I may’ve even broken a sweat once or twice. Apologies to my friends trapped under 75 feet of snow in New England right now.

Anyways, I quickly came back to NY to snow, wind, ice and a tropical warmth of maybe 25 degrees or so. This winter definitely stinks.

Between the severe change in temperatures and the closed-quarters of a six-hour airplane flight, I’m totally expecting to catch a cold. Hopefully I can fight it off. But as I sit on my commute into work, my thoughts are constantly interrupted by various coughs and sneezes from all corners of the train.

I don’t know if we’ll ever have a cure for the common cold (ask my mom, and chicken soup is still her #1 prescription), but I do know that when I get a cold, it’s far from fun. In fact, I’m downright miserable from head to toe.

For your reading pleasure, I thought I’d share with you the 10 Worst Things About Having a Cold. Aren’t you lucky?

  1. Need Sleep – I never get enough sleep to begin with during the week, but when I have a cold, all I want to do is curl up in my bed and dream of Captain America.
  2. Who Put That Bowling Ball in My Head? – When a cold hits full force, it literally feels like there’s a bowling ball inside my noggin. It takes all my strength just to keep my head up.
  3. A Rainbow of Colors – I’ll spare you the photos, but the most colorful mucus seems to coat the bathroom sink in the morning after hacking up a good ol’ glob. From yellow to gray to green. (Sorry for those of you eating breakfast while reading this.)
  4. What Am I Eating? – Taste buds seem to take a sick day whenever I do. Once I catch a cold, everything tastes the same, as in “bland.” I guess that’s one way to get me to eat Brussels sprouts without complaining.
  5. Run, Forrest’s Nose, Run – Don’t you hate when your nose starts running… and just won’t stop? You can wipe it 500 times an hour, and it still keeps right on dripping.
  6. “…” – Now that I’m older, I tend to get laryngitis a lot when I’m sick. While it’s great having that super deep Barry White voice for a day or two, it’s not worth having zero voice for three or four more days.
  7. Itchy & Scratchy – It’s bad enough not being able to taste anything, but having your throat scream in pain with every swallow just makes the mere thought of eating or drinking pure torture.
  8. Say What Now? – When you’re healthy, you never really think about how your ears connect to your nose and throat. Then you get sick and suddenly your ears are so clogged, you’d think you were 30,000 feet in the air.
  9. Poor Sneezy – I really feel for Sneezy of 7 Dwarves fame. All the others get fun names like Happy or Sleepy or even Doc (he’s so helpful!), but Sneezy just walks around, living his life, sneezing his head off non-stop. The worst is that super long tickle in your nose where you know a sneeze is coming but it takes a good five minutes to get there!
  10. The Never-Ending Story – When you’re sick and alone, you’re pretty miserable. When you’re sick and have a whole family, you can pass that miserableness on to your significant other and your kids. And they can pass it on to each other. By the time you’re finally over your original cold, there’s a good chance you’ll catch it all over again.

Thankfully there are things like tissues and blankets and soft, soft pillows to help bring some comfort to the cold sufferers. And there’s also some wonderful over-the-counter help too! Vicks DayQuil Severe and NyQuil Severe is another powerful defense to use this winter!

Never heard of them? You should! Better Homes & Gardens recently voted Vicks DayQuil Severe and Vicks Nyquil Severe Cold as the Best New Cough & Cold Remedy product. Through an independent survey of more than 70,000 people, the Better Homes & Gardens Best New Product Awards (BNPA) are a U.S. consumer-voted awards program. That means this vote is really from the people, not some stuffy old Academy!

I’ve got my boxes ready to take on that nasty cold if it does try to rear its ugly head anywhere near me! In fact, the Vicks folks were kind enough to send me a wonderful winter care package. Check it out!

#Vicks #NyQuil #DayQuil

Obviously they want me to stay healthy so I can keep on blogging! Thanks, Vicks!

Now, you may not have gotten your own winter care package from Vicks, but there are still loads of ways you can handle the awful symptoms of a cold or flu, or just keep them at bay. Vick’s own Nurse Barb suggests the following:

  • Know the signs. You are most contagious in the first 24 hours when your symptoms are at their worst. If you have two or more of these symptoms, stay home to rest: fever over 101o F, cough, sore throat, running nose, headache, body aches, chills, or fatigue.
  • Sleep on a schedule. Go to bed and wake up on a regular schedule. Plus, avoid stimulating beverages like caffeinated coffee or alcohol before going to sleep, as well as bright light from the screens on your phone, TV or other electronic devices.
  • Take a hot shower before bed. Steam and humidity can cause sinuses to drain and relieve stuffiness from a cold. It can also help you to relax, and ease chills, aches and fatigue. Put your towel and/or bathrobe in the dryer so that you don’t feel chilled when you get out, and make sure the room is nice and warm.
  • Try tea. Drinking an herbal tea such as chamomile, passionflower or other soothing teas before bed can help you relax while also getting helpful fluids into your system.

Now if you don’t mind, I’m going to go curl up on the couch with my blanket and a hot cup of tea and hide from the evil cold monsters.

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What do you hate most about having a cold?

3 thoughts on “The 10 Worst Things About Having a Cold”

  1. I definitely think the worst thing about having a cold is not being able to breathe good when laying down while trying to sleep.

    Reply
  2. I hear you about traveling and getting sick when you get home! This seems to happen to me all the time. I have used Vicks many years for all the cold and cough symptoms and it really is the only thing that helps me get through the terrible cold and flu season.

    Reply

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